“I appreciate your honesty, Jeremy. But just like you have your parents to protect you, I have to do that for my child.”
My mind was stuck on Ms. Alicia saying that I was her child. I had been with the Forresters for a little over six months and we had actually become a family. The family I had always wanted. The family I had always dreamed of. But, on the other hand, because of that family connection, my family was ruining my opportunity for the boy I loved.
“I know that you can’t foresee what’s going to happen, but I want you to promise me that when your life really becomes public, if you are still with Shante, you will protect her,” Ms. Alicia said.
Jeremy embraced my hand in his. “I promise, ma’am.”
“Okay, good. Shante, can you come with me, please?” Ms. Alicia stood up and I followed her out of the room. She led me to the foyer and then turned around. “I am so happy for you, girl.”
“Are you crying, Ms. Alicia?”
Ms. Alicia wiped her eyes. “Yes, I am.”
“Why? Stop it! You know you’re going to make me cry.” I started crying and Ms. Alicia wiped my tears. “Why are we crying?’
“I don’t know. I’m just happy for you.”
Pa-Pa walked through the foyer and saw us crying and then quickly walked away. “Oh shit, I’m getting the hell out of here.”
“Okay, dry your eyes.” Ms. Alicia wiped my eyes. “Go back in there and enjoy the rest of your night with your boyfriend.”
“So you approve?”
“I approve.”
“You don’t know how much that means to me, Ms. Alicia.”
“Would you stop talking and go back to your company?”
Pa-Pa walked back through the foyer as Ms. Alicia was telling me to return to the living room and then he stopped me.
“Wait a minute now; we want him out of here by eleven o’ clock.”
“Okay, Pa-Pa.” I looked over Pa-Pa’s shoulder and Ms. Alicia mouthed the word “midnight” over and over again.
Jeremy and I talked until midnight and Ms. Alicia gave signs to let me know that it was time for Jeremy to go. The next night I was supposed to go to Jeremy’s house to meet his parents. It did not go nearly as smoothly as it did with the Forresters.
I was expecting the attitude to come from his mom, but instead, it came from his smothering dad. He suspected that I was trying to be with Jeremy for his money. What money? Jeremy’s money was his money, and how in the hell could I get his money from him? From the moment I walked in his house, Mr. Winston was asking the tough questions.
“So why are you interested in my son, Shante?” Mr. Winston asked.
“Because he’s nice.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And it has nothing to do with his basketball potential?”
“No, sir.”
Mrs. Winston tried to save me by asking questions related to my family background, but she only pushed me out of the frying pan and into the fire.
“My husband played in the NBA,” Mrs. Winston said. “I hear your father and uncle played in the NFL, so they have something in common.”
“Well, Dr. Forrester is not my biological father, but he did play briefly in the NFL.”
“He’s not your biological father?” Mr. Winston interrupted. “Are you adopted?”
“No, the Forresters are my foster parents.”
“Foster parents? You live in a foster home?”
“Yes, sir, but they’re like my real parents.”
“May I ask how you came to live in a foster home?”
“I’d rather not answer that question, sir.”
“Oh, really?”
“Dad, please, you’re embarrassing her.”
“I’m not trying to embarrass you, young lady, but my son means everything to me and I don’t want him to get into anything that could jeopardize his future.”
“Shante is not a threat to me in any way, Dad. She is a good girl and all that we are trying to do is enjoy each other’s company with the permission of our parents.”
“But, son, you have to realize that there are going to be people to come into your life, and sometimes they are not going to have your best interest at heart.”
“He’s not saying that you don’t have his best interest at heart, Shante; he’s speaking generally,” Mrs. Winston said.
We sat quietly for a moment or two, and then Jeremy spoke. “We just stopped by for you two to meet Shante, so we’re about to head out to dinner.”
“Hold on a minute, son. Is this arrangement okay with your foster parents, Shante?”
“Yes, it’s okay with my parents. And we don’t use the ‘foster’ word in our house, because for us, it’s the love that makes the family, not the titles and definitely not the extracurricular activities.”
The room was quiet again. Jeremy looked at me and then patted me on the leg. “Ready to go?”
“Yes.” Jeremy grabbed my hand. “It was nice to meet you all.”
We stood up and Mrs. Winston followed us to the door. Mr. Winston never even said good-bye.
“You kids have fun!” Mrs. Winston.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Jeremy took me to dinner and then we went to a movie. I had a midnight curfew, but Pa-Pa started calling me at eleven-thirty to remind me. When I got home, Jeremy walked me to the door and we were about to kiss, but something told me to back off. I looked in the living room window and Pa-Pa, Dr. Forrester and Ms. Alicia were peeking out at us. I kissed Jeremy on the cheek and pointed my head in their direction so that he could peep them out.
“Oh.” Jeremy gave me a hug and returned my kiss on the cheek.
“Good night, Jeremy.”
“Good night, Butterfly.”
I could see them running from the living room picture window as I walked in. The Forresters got away clean, but I caught Pa-Pa in mid-stride.
“Pa-Pa!” I shouted.
“Ain’t nobody spying on you!”
“I never said you were.”
“Okay then.”
“But what are you doing down here?”
“It’s a free country. I can walk anywhere I want to walk.”
“Okay, Pa-Pa.” I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his. “Come on, old man, let me help you upstairs.”
Pa-Pa did not need my help to get upstairs, but I enjoyed escorting the old fart to his room anyway. As we passed the Forresters’ bedroom, I knocked and sarcastically said, “You two can go to sleep now.”
Ms. Alicia yelled back, “Thank you, dear.”
• • •
The next day, Dr. Forrester and I went to visit my father. He was in very good spirits that day. We laughed and joked almost the entire time I was there. But, of course, we had our father-daughter moments where we expressed how much we loved and missed each other.
“Guess what, Dad?”
“What?”
“I have a boyfriend.”
“I don’t know if I like that. Has Doc checked him out?”
“Dr. Forrester, Ms. Alicia and Pa-Pa.”
“Who the hell is Pa-Pa?”
“Oh, that’s Dr. Forrester’s dad. You don’t mind if I call him that, do you?”
“Do you love the old man?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do the old man love you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then no, I don’t mind.” Dad rubbed his chin. “So tell me about this boyfriend.”
“He’s tall, he’s cute, and he plays on the basketball team.”
“Does he have a name?”
“Yes, sir, it’s Jeremy Winston.”
“Jeremy Winston? The boy that transferred down here from New York?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What? My Butterfly is dating the number-one high school basketball player in the country?”
“I guess so.”
“Tell that boy he better treat you right, or I’m coming for his kneecaps.”
“Daddy!”
“Are you going to spend Valentine’s Day with him?”
“For a little while, I guess. We have early curfews during the week, so neither one of us can hang out late. We went out to dinner last night and celebrated.”
“Wow! My baby is growing up.”
“Where’s my Valentine’s Day card, Dad?”
“I got your Valentine right here.” Dad balled up his fist.
“Whatever, man.”
Dad smiled and then abruptly stopped smiling. “Look, I need to tell you something, sweetheart.”
“Sounds serious, Dad.”
“It is.”
“Don’t tell me you got in trouble?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Okay, what’s up then?”
“Hey, baby, Doc told me what’s been going on with your headaches. He thinks it’s because of something trapped in your mind and it’s trying to get out.”
“Bigmouth.”
“The doc is only trying to help you, that’s all.”
“I know.”
“I don’t even know how to tell you this, baby.”
“What’s the matter, Daddy?”
“Your mother, or the woman you knew as your mother, was not your biological mother. I met her when you were about a year old. She came into our lives and she loved you as if you were her very own.”
“I know, Dad.”
“Good, so I hope you’re not too disappointed.”
“No, I mean I know Mama was not my biological mother.”
“You know? What do you mean, you know?”
“I saw my original birth certificate and the woman’s name on my birth certificate was not Mama’s.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew?”
“Because I was waiting for you to tell me the truth.”
“Okay, so now you know.”
“Not really. I saw the name on my birth certificate, but I do not remember what the name was.”
“That’s not important, sweetheart!”
“Maybe you feel that way, Dad, but it’s very important for me to know the name of the woman who gave birth to me.”
“I’m telling you, you don’t want to open that can of worms, Butterfly. Let it go!”
“I can’t ‘let it go’! I have to know why this woman did not love me enough to keep me! Can’t you see how important this is to me?”
“Yeah, baby, but...”
“No, Daddy! I need for you to tell me her name!”
“Why? Why is it so important for you to know her name?”
“I’m going to find her, and I’m going to ask her how she could do what she did to her child.”
“It’s not worth it, Butterfly. What if she don’t want to see you and you end up getting hurt and disappointed even more than you are now?”
“That’s impossible, Daddy...I can’t get any more disappointed than I am now. So please, tell me her name.”
“Okay, baby,” Dad lowered his head and then raised it, “Her name is...”
• • •
School was really starting to kick my butt. Between cheerleading, the drama club and my studies, I barely had time for Jeremy. But when we did get together, there were sparks flying all over the place. The kissing lessons I’d learned from Toya sure paid off.
And who would have thought that after the way I met Asia, Jheri and Valencia, they would become my biggest supporters in drama class. I was struggling trying to make everybody happy in their roles for the production, but Asia, my stage manager, stepped in and put everybody in their places.
“Hey! Y’all listen up!” Asia clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Hey, listen! The producer has given everybody their roles and positions for the production, so it’s time to shut up and get busy! We have six weeks to make this show a success, so...like I said, either get busy, or get the hell out!”
“Thanks, Asia.”
“No problem, I’m trying to get an ‘A’ out of this class.”
“Okay, everybody, to piggyback off of what Asia said, starting next Monday, we will begin rehearsals. We will spend thirty minutes during class and an hour after class every day, so please tell your parents. If you cannot make it, please contact Asia and let us know in advance. Thank you.”
Speaking in front of the class gave me a bit of confidence. I embraced the role of being a leader. The thought of people depending on me was not as frightening as it had been in the past. I skipped lunch with Jeremy to go over the production with Asia, Jheri and Valencia. Bri came because, well, because Bri goes everywhere I go. We decided to meet at the food court in the Discover Mills mall, the place where we originally had our first altercation.
Bri and I arrived first and sat on opposite sides of the table. When Asia, Jheri and Valencia arrived, Valencia sat next to Bri on her side, and Jheri and Asia squeezed in on my side of the table.
“Asia, Jheri and Valencia, I hope y’all don’t mind that I brought my cousin with me. The first thing I want to do is clear the air about what happened last semester. Bri is my cousin, and now all of you are my friends. So y’all do what y’all have to do to put this behind us.”
“I’m cool with that,” Asia said.
“I don’t have a problem with Bri at all,” Valencia added.
Jheri looked at Bri and spoke directly to her, “Bri, we used to be best friends. Things got all crazy when we got to high school and I’m sorry if I hurt you. We got two more years of high school left and I would much rather you be my friend, than my enemy.”
“I can appreciate what all of you are trying to do, but it’s still kind of hurts to know my best friends turned on me over a dude.”
“David lied to both of us and made us both look like fools. We were young and his old ass took advantage of us.”
“Yeah, but even though we liked the dude, I would never post naked pictures of you on the Internet, Asia. Out of everybody, you and I were the closest.”
“I know Bri, but I can’t change what happened. I’m the one who should be upset anyway. Shit, you beat my ass!”
I had just taken a swallow of my soda, but what Asia said was so funny to me, I spat it out over everybody.
“Damn, that’s nasty!” Jheri screamed.
“You spit that shit all over my shirt, Shante!” Valencia stood up and shook the front of her blouse.
“You got me, too, girl.” Bri wiped her blouse.
“I’m sorry, y’all.” I chuckled. “I didn’t mean to. But that was funny as shit.”
“Your boyfriend is going to buy me a new shirt when he gets to the pros.”
“I don’t have anything to do with Jeremy or the money he’s going to make, Valencia. I’ll get you a new shirt myself.”
“Hey, I’ll be right back. I have to go dry my shirt off.”
“I’m coming with you, Valencia.” Bri slid out of the table and went with Valencia.
“I’m coming, too.” Jheri climbed from between Asia and me and caught up with Bri and Valencia.
Asia waited for Bri to get out of sight and then told me some rather interesting information. Information that made me mad as hell!
“Shante? I know we have butted heads, but that shit is in the past. I’ve been hearing some stuff and it ain’t cool.”
“What’s up?”
“Your cousin is messing up.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Bri,” Asia looked over her shoulder, “she’s getting into some foul shit and she’s about to get busted.”
“Busted for what?”
“She’s feeding this chick up in DeKalb County some Vicodin, and the chick got caught up in some shit and now she’s about to sell Bri out to save her own ass.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“It’s a chick named Toya from Decatur. Bri’s been selling her some pills and the chick been selling them to other people. Not just kids, but grown people, too! She got out there more than she wanted. I’m hearing they�
�re tight on Bri’s ass. She don’t even know what’s about to hit her. You better let her know.”
We paused because we could see the other girls coming. But I made it perfectly clear that I was going to handle the situation myself.
“I know who Toya is, and she’s always trying to bail on people. Not this time, though. I’m going to make sure her ass gets what she deserves.”
“You know that girl?”
“Yeah, I know her. She’s one of my best friends. She went to my old school.”
“You better check that chick before she gets Bri caught up.”
“Don’t worry, I got this. But I need you to do me a favor.”
“Yeah, what you need?”
“I need you to keep this zipped until I handle this. I don’t want Bri to know anything, all right?”
“Oh, don’t worry, I don’t know nothing.”
“Can you make sure your girls keep that under wraps, too?”
“They don’t even know. I just found out myself from my cousin who goes to that school. That Toya girl sold her some pills.”
“I can’t believe she did something that stupid!”
“Shh! Here they come; you might want to move to another subject.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
The girls sat back down in their spots and we continued to talk about our production.
• • •
I had a conversation with Keisha and Jacqua about a private meeting with Toya. I told her I did not want her to involve Bri in any of her criminal activities, and I meant that. I knew she would suspect something was going on if I called her myself, so I had Keisha set her up.
Keisha invited Toya over to smoke, and no, I’m not talking about cigarettes. I was already sitting in the basement when they arrived. I heard them coming down the stairs; Toya was first, then Jacqua and then Keisha. When Toya saw me, she tried to run back upstairs, but she could not get past Keisha and Jacqua, who were blocking her path. She was moving so fast she slipped on one of the stairs and fell. I grabbed her foot and pulled her back down one step at a time. Her body bounced harder and harder with every stair.
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